[Ads-l] "Talk to the Hand" Query

[John Baker]

The Author/Byline, according to NewsBank, is “BRENDA YOUChicago Tribune,” so there may be a slightly earlier version of this in the Tribune. 


John Baker


> On Jan 15, 2026, at 5:50 PM, Ben Zimmer <00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> 
> Fred posted an antedating last June, and then again a few days ago, from
> July 19, 1994:
> 
> 1994 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 19 July 8E (ProQuest)
> TALK TO THE HAND  "It means, "Shut up, I don't want to talk to you any
> more."  — James, 12, Boca Raton Middle.
> 
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2025-June/167158.html
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2026-January/168384.html
> 
> (I'll renew my plea to try to keep discussions threaded so we don't lose
> track of useful information scattered across different subject lines.)
> 
> On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 1:28 AM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
>>>  The phrase "talk to the hand" is widely attributed to Martin
>> Lawrence's 1990s sit-com, but I am having trouble
>>>  pinpointing episodes where it was used.  Can anyone suggest relevant
>> episodes or methods of finding them ?
>>> 
>>>  Fred Shapiro
>> 
>> "Talk to the hand, cause the face ain't listening."
>> 
>> I never watched "Martin", but did start hearing this in the 1990s.  Maybe
>> from Fran Drescher on "The Nanny".
>> 
>> One way of searching dialogue is through shooting scripts.  You can often
>> google [show title] " script" and find one, but be aware that search
>> results may not be 100% accurate — they may be early drafts, or the filmed
>> result may be different from on-set changes made after a script is
>> finalized.  I've had greater success finding movie scripts than TV scripts.
>> 
>> Another is through subtitle files associated with shows.  The closed
>> caption dialogue in television and movies is captured in .SRT files (there
>> are other formats/extensions used, but this is the most common.)  Google
>> [show title] "srt" and you can often find the subtitle file(s) for the show
>> in question.
>> 
>> Unfortunately, I don't see many SRT files online for "Martin".  If you can
>> get the DVDs of the show, there are tools that will rip these files from
>> them, but I'd imagine you are looking for something cheaper and online and
>> immediately available.
>> 
>> The earliest textual cite I can find:
>> 
>> 1995 Crusader [Susquehanna Univ. student newspaper] 10 Feb 4/4
>> 
>> If you weren't there, too bad!  Just talk to the hand!!
>> 
>> 
>> https://archive.org/details/Crusader-Vol_36_Nos_1-21_Sept_1994-April_1995/page/n100/mode/1up?q=%22talk+to+the+hand%22
>> 
>> [Note:  going through Archive.org, I see nothing until 1995, and then many
>> (mostly collegiate yearbooks and newspapers) cites starting in that year.
>> If "Martin" is the vector for this phrase, I'd bet it was used in late 1994
>> or early 1995, or the 3rd season].
>> 
>> 
> 
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org